Interview: Émilie Daudin (The Brunette)

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Exertier advocates self-acceptance, at any age and in the face of all life events. In her book Liberté, Egalité, Maternity , Émilie Daudin (from the blog The Brunette), claims the right of mothers to let go, to stop feeling guilty and above all to show kindness to themselves.

Discover Liberty, Equality, Maternity and its author, Emilie Daudin:

What does Liberty, Equality, Maternity represent in your eyes?

A mantra that we should all have in mind so that we stop judging each other about motherhood. There are as many mothers as there are different maternity wards and that is what this slogan represents.

You already mentioned motherhood on your blog, what motivated you to write Liberté, Égalité, Maternity?

I was contacted by an editor who offered to turn my articles on motherhood into a book. I didn't believe it, but I was super flattered. And I'm happy to have been able to write this book, even if it took me a long time because I had a lot of things to say.

Liberté, Égalité, Maternity is not a book about personal development but a book about letting go and the right to make mistakes. Is this an important subject for you?

There is such pressure on mothers! I find it pretty crazy to see the emotions you can go through as a mother. When I became a mother, I fell from a height. Motherhood had been sold to me as an end in itself and they had above all hidden from me how hard it was to be a parent and above all, that the guilt was omnipresent. I try to encourage my readers who are mothers to take a step back and not blame themselves for breaking down.

Do you have any advice on how to best free yourself from fears and worries about entrepreneurship?

What I tell people who want to get started is to weigh the pros and cons but to get started because you only have one life. I always assume that it is better to live with remorse than with regrets. What if our project works and is a hit? What if we mess up? It doesn't matter, it's not a failure but a great experience!

You share very difficult episodes in the life of a woman and a mother in this book, was it important for you to share the difficulties?

I can't count the number of women who feel guilty and think they're a bad mother because they don't tick all the boxes! I'm struggling too, and I really wanted to tell these women. I also experienced a terminated pregnancy which was complicated, a cesarean section under general anesthesia... These kinds of events which happen in a woman's life and which we rarely talk about. I wanted to comfort those who are going through this and who may feel alone.

Finally: a personal mantra to share with us?

The right choice is yours. We use it on Pow[HER] Mamma , the podcast that I co-created and which is a logical continuation of the book.